Dublin
"May I help you?" Now there's a chunk of language I taught students for years. The idea was that they?d be able to cope with shopping in English-speaking countries. Naturally, they were also taught a range of responses such as "No, thanks. I'm just looking." and "Yes. I'd like a pair of green wellies, size 44, please." And so on.
I mention this because while shopping yesterday in Dublin, I was confronted with the obsolescence of my teaching ways. Fact is: no on in an Irish shop says "May I help you?" anymore. You are much more likely to hear "Are you all right?" or more commonly, "Are you OK?" This latter was posed to me by a young woman in Brown Thomas store on Grafton Street. Because BT, as many call it, is regarded to be the Irish equivalent of Harrods or Saks, it was this "Are you OK?" that made me think about what is happening in the Irish services sector.
And what's happened is that the incredible growth of the past five years has encouraged retailers to find warm bodies and put them on the front lines while providing them with little or no training. It's a "strategy" that devalues staff and customers, and shows how little commitment there is to the future. When the history of the Irish boom of the 90's is written , a chapter will have to be devoted to the role cheap labour played in the process.
Talking of services, long before the boom began and many years before Dublin's Temple Bar area became a fashionable pubbing and clubbing place, Claddagh Records was trading at 2 Cecelia Street. The shop continues to represent all that's good in music and knowledgeable, polite service. Purchases included "Specialists In All Styles" by Orchestra Baobab and "The Fine Art of Piping" by Liam O'Flynn. Keeping the Christmas-rush customers satisfied was the charming and talented Martin Nolan. His latest album is called "Bright Silver, Dark Cloud" and it has joined the collection.
Moving on shortly from Dublin to Limerick. Many thanks to the Donnelly Family of Haddon Road for their overwhelming generosity and blogging support. Last night's fun concluded with a bottle of Saint-Emilion (1998), one of Chateau Landat (1998), a fine mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot, and finally a splendid 1996 Chateau Barthez, which represents the very best of Haut-Medoc.
